We Now Return To Your Periodic Dose Of Rampaging Stupidity
The ink is black
The page is white
From The Seattle Times:
In a move that will surely create buzz for the South Pacific-set season of the CBS reality show [Survivor: Cook Islands], 20 castaways will be racially divided. Teams of five will be separated into four tribes — black, white, Hispanic and Asian — that will eventually merge into one.
Seriously. I'm not making this up.
"One thing we were cognizant of in casting the show, we weren't looking to put a white supremacist on with a member of the NAACP," counters [host Jeff] Probst. "We weren't looking for extremes to show that people do have racial biases or ethnic biases. That would be a different show."
Yes. That show would be like some kind of competition where the contestants are divided among racial lines.
Probst insists this season's initial segregation is fair. "This is an equal-opportunity game," says Probst.
It's a rare quote that completely stumps me for a snarky comeback. This is one of them.
August 25th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
You should have quoted some of Rush Limbaugh’s piece about this. Blew my mind.
I don’t think this is a bad idea. We learn to treat everyone equally, no matter what their race, color, gender or religion is. But that doesn’t make it wrong to celebrate our heritage and that of others.
August 25th, 2006 at 12:20 pm
Ah yes, Rush. I wasn’t aware that he’d weighed in on the topic.
I don’t have a problem celebrating culture. I have a big problem with competitions based on ethnicity/skin color. There’s nothing cultural or celebratory about that.
Furthermore, because of the reality programming format, there will be nothing real about it at all. The participants will be manipulated as much by the producers as their rivals. I predict a disaster bigger than Black. White.
August 25th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
Surely there’s nothing wrong with this at all. Unless you’re expecting all the Asians to be bad drivers, the Blacks to start gunning each other down and dealing crack, and the Hispanics to sneak across the border into New Zealand. This is only a problem if you think that the groups will actually fulfill the stereotypes, in which case it says a lot more about you than the makers of the gameshow.
In England, we have a yearly show called Test The Nation which is ostensibly supposed to be a general knowledge quiz that every member of the public takes part in from home, comparing scores at the end. At least once, to add spice, they had a studio audience divided into stereotypical groups taking part in the test too. There was a group of Blondes, a group of Taxi Drivers, a group of Teachers, a group of Students, etc etc. And you know what, they all defied the stereotypes. The Blondes did better than the Brunettes, the Students did better than the Teachers, and so on and so forth. If anything it was a celebration of societal diversity, not jingoistic pigeon-holing.
We think nothing of dividing every single sport in the world into Men and Women, so why is this any different?
Get over it, eh?
August 25th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
It’s just another attempt by the producers to provide a hook to boost ratings for a very tired format. They wouldn’t be doing this if they weren’t going to expect (and encourage) racial tension, since that is the kind of thing that keeps American viewers tuning in.
August 25th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
People only watch reality shows to see two things: Who’s gonna fight and who’s gonna f**k. So why do we have to have gimmicks like this? What is really irritating is that they’re using the racial problems in this country as a way to sell a stupid show that should have been cancelled long ago.
Exactly. But at least they won’t have just the token minorities this time. No, now they’re ALL tokens.
It also says how much we know about the makers of reality shows. They won’t all be stereotypes unless the makers of the gameshow will be casting the very people they want to fulfill those stereotypes. This won’t be random sampling. These cast members will be carefully to selected to do exactly what the producers want. The producers are going to want what they always do, which is tension and conflict. Conflict makes good television. What’s better than racial conflict? I’ll tell you what - inter-racial conflict. Just take the black team: Let’s have a self-loathing Uncle Tom, a gang-banger, a hootchie-mama and two regular people just to fill it out. Reality show GOLD! And the Hispanic team: Want conflict? It’s even easier! Mexican + Puerto Rican + Dominican! Need some more conflict? Just add gay! Then get the teams together: “Of course we didn’t win that challenge. It was obviously designed so [insert group] would win.” “Of course they won. Everybody knows that [insert group] are the best at [activity].”
Is everything I’ve just said incredibly offensive? Of course it is. If I’m a Survivors producer, however, I can hide behind “just celebrating cultural diversity. It’s reality, folks. This is REAL!” And to say nothing of the goading and cajoling they’ll be putting these people through.
Think of the ratings. Burnett and company are probably drooling at the thought of every demographic in the nation tuning in to root for “their” team. Ratings aren’t great? Simply edit a bunch of really nasty stuff together and put it in the trailer. It’s not like they haven’t made a science of this.
And I bet it was a totally random sample, with no thought as to producing the “surprises” that occurred.
*puts on asbestos underwear*
August 25th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
Of course benro is much more succinct. Dammit!
August 25th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
So by this train of logic, it’s okay to segregate a diner into blacks-only and whites-only sections, as long as I don’t expect that the blacks will want fried chicken?
August 25th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
INTRA-racial. Double dammit!
August 25th, 2006 at 3:23 pm
The first challenge: find food!
The whites will sleep and wonder why the blacks aren’t bringing them food, the blacks will turn to cannibalism, the Asians will analyze the situation and write papers on it, and the Hispanics will try to sneak into the other camps to steal their food.
August 25th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
On the next season of Survivor tribes will be divided into: Muslims, Christians, Atheists and Homosexuals! Just cuz the producers are asscocks.
From now on tribes should be divided by pirates and ninjas.
August 25th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
I can see it now (the flame war between the sides): “Towelhead!” “Fudgestuffer!” “Heathen!” “Infidel!” “Um… Christ worshipper?” “Ass monkey!” “Sandy beard!” “C***sucker!” “Racist!”
“Whoa, man.” “Below the belt, dude.” “You just don’t call people that.”
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
“Terrorist!” “*** dumpster!” …
August 26th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
How is that the same train of logic? You’re complaining that a gameshow is dividing people into groups, and then comparing it to hypothetical societal practice. People would be lambasted for creating diners that only served women too, but I don’t see you whining when shows and sports divide the sexes.
Here’s an idea. Let’s make a gameshow where bloggers get awarded points for being xenophobic middle-americans and simultaneously outraged at things they perceive as xenophobic middle-americanism. Whoever can pontificate the most while keeping a straight face wins.
August 26th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Women and men are divided in sports because men are, in general, physically superior to women. Men are genetically geared towards the things that make good athletes. Women are not. So it makes sense to divide sports based on sex.
Whereas no study of merit has ever concluded that one racial group is superior mentally, physically, or whatever else Survivor is going to test. So the division is completely artificial, and any conclusions drawn (and there will be conclusions drawn) will be fallacious.
August 27th, 2006 at 4:17 am
Sure, but what about shows that do the same? You ignored that part. Or any of the various other moments in everyday life where we choose to divide people into groups no matter how little scientific evidence there is to justify it.
You know, I hear in many countries that on the eve of a wedding, the males and females split into different groups to celebrate. Those vicious bastards.
August 28th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
Dom I don’t think you understand America. This country is full of hatreds based on race. That scientific data do not support the claims made by various “hate” factions doesn’t seem to have any mitigating effect. Hate isn’t based on rational thought.
Ambers point here ( I think ) is that the producers and directors along with the likely method of choosing a cast to increse the effects will be playing to these people, giving them a “relevent” topic and forum for spreading their disease. Honestly it’s a gold mine, but it’s also irresponsible as hell. That we have the freedom to create shows like this in America doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do so even if the shows creators will profit from it. It’s in incredibly poor taste ( though taste isn’t exactly the word I’m looking for as taste hasn’t much to do with responsibility ) and is likely to end up doing harm to already strained race relations here.
August 29th, 2006 at 5:48 am
Ooohh.. I love these. It was obviously designed so [COMMUNISTS] would win.” “Of course they won. Everybody knows that [AARP] are the best at [MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKING].”
@Krone
Pirates would soooo pwn the ninjas. No contest.
August 29th, 2006 at 10:39 am
You honestly believe that they’re creating the show to spread racial hatred? I’m sorry, I just can’t see that. I can’t see a show like the one you’re describing being a ratings-winner in such a racially sensitive country as America. And, after all, ratings are the ultimate motivator in making these shows (how’s that for understanding America?).
I’m too lazy to go back and read the links Amber posted, but I’m fairly sure I remember the producers saying they wanted to decry the racial stereotypes rather than reinforce them. If so, why is this a bad show? Surely you should be championing it as a modern day Tonight Show With Martin Luther King. I mean, if the show does commit hate crimes against the aforementioned ethnicities, and it stillturns out to be a ratings winner, then fair enough. I’ll take back my optimism for the show. But if that does turn out to be the case, I think you need to realise the real problem is the people watching the damn thing rather than making it. You can’t make a huge success out of a racially stereotypical TV show without millions and millions of people tuning in to watch it.
I still find it highly unlikely they’re going to make the show you expect, though.